Dog lovers are not shy about talking to their pets, but the communication is mostly an exchange of barks and guesses…unless you put on the No More Woof device on your four-legged friend. Creator NSID (Nordic Society for Invention and Discovery) recently launched a fundraising campaign on IndieGoGo to develop the first ever device that can translate a dog’s brainwaves into English.

So how does the gadget work? Well, No More Woof detects canine brainwave patterns and translates them to human speech through a speaker. So far, it can detect brainwave patterns related to curiosity, excitement, hunger and fatigue. At this point, No More Woof only speaks English, but the Scandinavian developers said French, Mandarin and Spanish are on the horizon.

The NSID has already surpassed its $10,000 funding goal and plans to deliver the first units in April. Those who pledged $65 will receive the NMW Micro which is capable of distinguishing two to three brainwave patterns. Backers who donated $300 will get the NMW Standard which can understand four or more brainwave patterns. This model will also support upgrades as the developers conduct additional research and incorporate support for new and more complex patterns.

“Right now we are only scraping the surface of possibilities; the project is only in its cradle.” the NSID team said on their IndieGoGo page. “And to be completely honest, the first version will be quite rudimentary. But hey, the first computer was pretty crappy too.”

While that may be, the project has the potential to revolutionize our relationship with pets and animals. The mere concept of the invention has drawn global attention landing No More Woof on the pages of Wired, Time, Forbes, The Huffington Post, among others.

Do you tend to misplace and forget where you left your stuff? Chipolo offers a creative new solution for the forgetful. It is a small device which uses Bluetooth to locate missing items. This allows the device to wirelessly connect to virtually any Bluetooth-enabled mobile phone. Simply attach a Chipolo to items you want to track like your car or home keys, backpack, wallet or heck - even your pets and children!

With Chipolo’s free mobile app, which is currently available for both iOS and Android devices, you can easily locate the tagged items. You can use multiple units, with each one assigned to a particular item you care about so there’s no need to worry about losing or misplacing anything ever again.

Here’s how it works. Say, for instance, you are looking for an object you’ve attached a Chipolo to. All you need to do is use the app on your mobile phone to make the Chipolo beep. Pretty neat, huh? But what if it’s your smartphone that’s missing? No problem, just shake the Chipolo and it will make your phone buzz. The device has a range of up to 60 meters (200 feet) and can last up to six months. In addition, the location of your Chipolo is saved on a map so you can see where the item was last “seen” by your smartphone.

Launching on the crowd-funding website Kickstarter on October 16, FlyKly aims to make riding almost any bicycle an effortless adventure. It has already reached the funding goal of $100,000, so there seems to be demand for this type of technology.

The Smart Wheel FlyKly has developed assists in pedalling with the power of a thin electric motor that exists inside the rim of the rear bike wheel. When you pedal the motor engages and can reach a top speed of 25km/h while allowing the cyclist to cover up to 50km before needing a recharge.

The package also comes with a mobile phone charger that connects to the wheel, allowing you to charge your devices as you ride. This is important, because the Smart Wheel connects via Bluetooth to a smartphone, allowing the rider to track distance, plan routes, and see how much charge the battery has left. You can even lock and track the wheel with a smartphone, discouraging theft.

A couple of techies walk into a bar...a foreign bar, and realize they have no idea how to order beer in Czech. That's the dilemma the founders of Pivo found themselves in when visiting Prague. Their solution? Develop an iPhone app that teaches people how to order beer in 59 different languages.

Thus, Pivo was born. Simply open the app and swipe to your desired language and you're ready to order. The app spells out how to order a beer in the desired language and also provides proper pronunciation so you, hopefully, don't butcher the bartenders native language. If you're really worried about getting it right you can even watch videos and listen to audio recorded by native speakers of the language. From Afrikaan to Zulu, Pivo has your thirst quenched.

Each week, Tech Soup will be written by a member of the Okanagan's burgeoning first-rate technology community. We already have a few regular contributors, but if you're interested in writing a tech piece for this weekly column, send us an email to [email protected]

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